The History of~World War 2 (Part 5: The Tide Turns)
As we left off from our last page (click here) The Nazis tried to invade the USSR since they couldn't bring down Britain. They were successful in invading the USSR since the Red Army wasn't prepared for such a surprised attack, eventually they defeated the Nazis as they not just protected Stalingrad (modern day Volgograd) but they also beat back the Nazis in the Battle of Kursk. So, this evil national power defeated an even *more* evil national power and showed that the Nazis weren't unstoppable machines, but human soldiers with flaws. This page in my 7-part series about World War 2 will talk about not just the Soviets but also the Allies turning the tide of this war in their favor, and how can it pave a way for a total Allied and Soviet Victory. The Allies turning the tide of the war wasn't easy, in fact they had to do a lot in order to turn this tide in their favor. It all began during the Battle of The Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic Ever since the beginning of war, the British were having a lot of difficulties keeping up with a steady flow of supplies from it's colonies as the Nazis had a huge and powerful submarine fleet (called U-Boats) and they were sinking British merchant shipping at an alarming rate. The key to the success of Nazi U-Boats is not just their U-boats in general, but also their new Submarine tactics which was called "Ruddeltaktiks" ''(or "Wolf Pack Tactics) where the U-Boats would form rigid lines, use radios to coordinate their attacks and then use torpedoes that detonate underneath a British ship causing it to break in half and sink. In just the first year of the war, Britain lost over 1,000 Merchant Ships with the loss of only 40 U-Boats. This also made Britain introduce a propaganda for it's people to ration food and clothes as well as other goods. Even after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and with the USA entering the war, Nazi U-Boats were still sinking merchant ships exponentially, eventually the U-boats would sink over 5,000 British and American Shipping. A British man named ''Henry Tizard argued persuasively to help out the USA by share any form of weapon technological information which the British has came up. Though, Churchill wasn't really thrilled on the idea, but allows Tizard to proceed with his assignment. The British had some of the latest in war technology, but they didn't have the production capabilities that the USA did. So, Tizard gathered all of his know-how with war tech and sent them from Britain to the USA. As Churchill and Roosevelt were discussing an alliance, they also talk about the sharing of information of technology so the British can also make them in the USA. This would prove crucial for turning the tide in the Atlantic. By April in 1943, the British Convoy called "ONS 5" which was bound for Canada, they sailed very rough seas. During a course of a week, the British and American fleets have combated these U-Boats. Eventhough, the Nazis were effectively the winners in this battle but the survivability rates for the Merchant Ships went up at a very steady rate. In Africa The Axis didn't just want to secure their holdings in Europe, they also wanted to expand their influence in North Africa. As Hitler made an "uneasy" alliance with Italy's De Facto leader: Benito Mussolini, they head to push the British out of North Africa as a way to gain access to the oil field in the Middle East. In 1940, the Axis invades North Africa as the Nazi "Afrika Korp" (led by Erwin Rommel), though they did achieve some success, but the British were able to hold their ground against Italy later in 1940. Around 2 years later, the Nazis invade El Alamein, but were also stalled by the British thanks to British General Bernard Montgomery. Operation Torch This Operation would involve US troops aiding the British in North Africa. But because the survivability rate of Allied ships were still low thanks to the Nazi U-Boat fleet. The initial plan was to have American forces to ship all away from their home land and to U-boat infested seas, where the British would sail from their own home land to modern day Morocco. The French (those who do not fight with the Nazis) were also in this operation as they would invade Algeria and Tunisia. The US forces landed in the beaches in Morocco on November 8, 1942. They make many mistakes as they try to get onto the beaches, as they prematurely exit their amphibious landing ships and were sitting ducks for enemy fire. Despite this, the Americans made a breakthrough as they fight the French (the ones to do pledge to the Nazis) but were incompetent and surrendered completely. Throughout the rest of 1942, the American forces have trekked though the occupied areas of North Africa, but it wouldn't be until the beginning of 1943 where the US forces were closing in on the Tunisian town known as Faid where Nazi Forces led by Rommel were, what appeared to be retreating. But the Nazis have set up a trap for the US, and by total surprise, the US forces came under heavy Nazi fire as not just their tanks were hit by heavy Anti-Tank fire, but the soldiers also were surprisingly attacked by the highly trained Nazis. Kasserine Pass By February 19, 1943, the US were trapped at Kasserine Pass (outside Kasserine). Because the US army didn't have a lot of experience in modern warfare, they were basically overmatched by the aggressive Nazi forces. It wasn't until British reinforces arrived nearly 5 days later to help out the overwhelmed US forces, and with this the Nazis were defeated and forced Rommel to retreat. Within just the first day, the US forces suffered 7,000 casualties (30,000 in total of 5 days). Now this made the US change their leadership as well as their tactics to make sure that this thing would never happen again. With these new rules in place, both the Americans and the British were able to turn the tide of the African war in their favor. After the Allies liberated North Africa, they also invade Sicily, creating a highway for an all-out invasion of Fascist Italy. In the Pacific Even in the Pacific, the tide of the war was slowly but surely turning in the favor of the USA. Though, the Americans decided to attack the Nazis first, they still wanted revenge on the Japanese. Revenge on Pearl Harbor was slow and coming for the Americans, but by early 1942 the USA makes their first bombing runs on the Japanese capital of Tokyo. Though it didn't do a lot of damage, but it bring down Japanese morale as the Emperor was threatened. The Battle of Midway By the summer of 1942, the Japanese were planning an attack on the island known as Midway, it is where a US base is also established. If the Japanese take the island, it'll take them closer to the US Mainland. But, what the Japanese don't know is that the USA got wind of their battle plans. This is because the USA has cracked the Japanese naval code: JN-25. This will prove crucial for the Americans throughout the entire Pacific Theater. On June 4, the Japanese begin their Bombing Raid on the Island, then the US Navy comes in to help out the island. Even with the cracking of the Japanese code, the US knows that timing is everything in this battle, they have to strike the Japanese only when the time is right. By 9 AM, a Japanese reconnaissance plane sees the incoming US Fleet. After learning of the presence$ of the US Fleet, the Japanese Admiral Chuihi Nagumo is now faced with some tough decisions. Either ingnore the fleet and continue to bomb Midway, or hold off the attack on Midway and attack the Fleet before they can save the island. While he was contemplating on what to do, the fleet stops entirely and stood that way until Nagumo made up his mind. What Nagumo doesn't know is that the US Fleet is slowly creeping up on the Japanese, Nagumo assumed that the US Fleet was still too far away to be any kind of threat when in reality they were. The US takes this moment to strike, though they send small bombers to bomb the Japanese, the majority was shot down not only by Japanese Zeros but also Japanese anti-air weaponry which protected the Japanese Fleet. For several days, the battle continued. But as the US Fleet seemed that they have exhausted their resources in this battle, the Japanese attacked, they too came under havy anti-air fire from the Americans, but were able to sink one of the US Fleet's Carriers: The Yorktown. Tired of fighting, the Japanese crew wanted a break from the fighting and to eat and sleep. Once again, the US takes this opportunity to strike at the Japanese fleet again, this time with their best dive bombers. The US Dive Bombers, avoid much of the anti-air weapons and use their bombs to sink virtually the entire Japanese Fleet at Midway which includes some of Japan's best carriers. As a result, Nagumo comitted Suicide since he survived the destruction of the Akagi: one of Japan's carriers and his own flag ship. Japan suffered a crushing defeat at Midway Island, with their loss of half of their air fleet since 4 of their carriers the Akagi, Soryu, Hiryu and Kaga were sunk as well as 350 elite Japanese Pilots, their prestige was also lost since Japan will soon realize that these losses will be difficult ro replace. Battle of Saipan/Battle of the Marianas For the next few years, the USA would fend off the Japanese in the Pacific, inching closer to Japan's occupied areas. By the Summer of 1944, the USA was getting closer to the Philippines (which the Japanese occupied shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor). On the way, they stopped at an island called Saipan on June 15. This will be the beginning of the USA's island hopping campaign. Prime Minister Tojo gave the order to the troops on the island to defend at all costs. The Americans fought against an overly aggressive Japanese forces, while there they faced a Japanese force who was willing to give up their lives to protect their positions, a movement which would be known as ''"Banzai Charge" '' where the Japanese solider would use their Bayoneted rifles and charge at the enemy. The rest of the Japanese fleet were called on to help out the Japanese troops on Saipan. But the USA was sent to intercept the fleets and the ''Battle of the Philippine Sea ''ensued. The Japanese lost nearly 650 Planes, compared to only 120 American planes, and because of this Japan couldn't aid their troops in Saipan. The Japanese were eventually defeated at Saipan, even some with the Banzai Charge which they basically comitted suicide. The Japanese casulaties during the battle of Saipan were horrific (littaraly and metaforically), as the suicides were not just done by Banzai Soldiers. It was also Japanese civilians, even mothers going as far as killing their own children. Nevertheless, with Saipan falling to the USA this would also clear the airways to make bombing runs on the main Japanese islands. With these battles, the Allies have turned the tide of the war in their own favor. But the war was far from over, the Allies can also corner the Axis and hopefully make them surrender, and that is what we will cover in our next page (click here) Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.